The day Carlos Alcaraz returns to world No. 1 by winning the title at Indian Wells, Rafael Nadal will leave the ‘top 10’ after spending 912 consecutive weeks in the world’s top 10.
April 25, 2005 nadal He got into that elite club after winning the first Conde de Godó by winning the opposing final. Juan Carlos Ferrero (6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-3) and world number 7. He was not yet 19, had not won Roland Garros, and 24-year-old Roger Federer dominated the circuit as No.
This Monday, after 6538 days, nadal see the end a magnificent record in the history of professional men’s tennisexceeded in the ladies only period Martina Navratilova It remained in the top 10 in the world for 1,000 weeks (1976-1995).
The former #1 hasn’t been among the best due to a recent hip injury he suffered at the last Australian Open, which prevented him from playing at Acapulco or Indian Wells, where he won the title last year. he was a finalist. taylor fritz.
Nadal dropped to 13th place in the world with 2,715 points inside ATP ranking in which alcaraz He returned to first place with 7,420 points. Novak Djokovic, With 7,160 points, he will not be able to play in Indian Wells, which is not vaccinated against covid-19. Master 1,000 last year. .
longevity record
nadalAt 36, he’s disappearing from the ‘top 10’ in a little over a month after spending 18 years in the elite. No one has ever achieved such a longevity record in men’s tennis. Second on that list federal with 789 consecutive weeks (Switzerland still holds the ‘top ten’ record for a total of 968 weeks), followed by Jimmy Connors (734), Ivan Lendl (619) and small sampras (565). Nadal would add another 22 weeks when the circuit was suspended from March 23 to August 23, 2020, when ATP was not counted due to the coronavirus pandemic. 1 again, Alcaraz should remain in the top 10 in the world by April 2039.
The stupendousness of Nadal’s record of stability becomes even more evident when one recalls the injuries the Mallorcan has suffered throughout his career that have kept him off the courts for a long time. In those years, Nadal spent 209 weeks as the world’s No.1 and won 92 titles, 22 of which were Grand Slams.
nadalStill recovering and hoping to return to the ground tour that started in Monte Carlo (April 9), he could lose more qualifying after Miami. It is a situation that makes it difficult to be among the top eight seeds at Roland Garros, where he set his goal and struggle to win the championship again and break the tie in 22 Grand Slams he shared. Djokovic.